Some of the people have spoken

Light voter turnout leads to narrow margins of victory in city elections

Incumbents and new faces alike did well Tuesday night as county officials reported extremely close unofficial election results just after 9:45 p.m. The close calls were to be expected, as fewer than one in four eligible voters showed up at the polls to choose new council members in four cities.

With three seats open in East Carbon, Barbara Robinett, Dave Maggio and David Avery came out on top, as incumbent Avery retained his seat by a mere three votes over challenger Lynn Archuleta. Earlier this year, Archuleta drew straws with East Carbon primary candidate Jan Hunt to get into the general election, after provisional and absentee ballots found them to be tied.

While this will be Robinett's first term as a council member, Maggio has served as a city official before and plans to hit the ground running this January.

"I would like to see the city clean up its property before addressing the beautification of our residents yards," said Maggio. "There are many areas which the city owns that need to be taken care of before we can say anything to our citizens."

Specifically, Maggio said he would work to clear weeds from city sidewalks and debris from the East Carbon's residential streets. City beautification along with water and budget issues were a few of the major topics addressed by East Carbon's six candidates prior to the election.

"I think the election went well," continued Maggio, "and I am happy with what I consider to be a good turnout." According to the county, 231 residents out of 1,008 registered turned out to vote in the East Carbon election. "I'm pleased I get to serve the city again and will stand for what I feel is right for the citizens of this area."

East Carbon's results were reported as follows:

Lynn N. Archuleta - 101

David F. Avery - 104

Barbara M. Fisher - 82

Dave Maggio - 140

Rakele Palmer - 76

Barbara Robinett - 165

In Helper, incumbents Robert Bradley and Kirk Mascaro retained their positions, with Jason Llewelyn winning the city's third open council seat. The county reported Helper's results as follows:

Robert Bradley - 184

Jason T. Llewelyn - 179

Kirk E. Mascaro - 186

Donald L. Mortensen - 171

Wellington City saw Glen Wells and Marvon Willson keep their council spots while Andrew Yakovic was voted into a council position for the first time. The election was pre-determined, as two of the candidates, Chet and Chester Housekeeper, were disqualified prior to the election for failing to submit their financial information on time. Wellington's election results were reported as: